Stockbroker Fraud Bloghttps://www.stockbrokerfraudblog.com
Published by Houston, Securities Fraud Lawyers — Shepherd Smith Edwards & KantasThu, 22 Feb 2018 00:51:58 +0000en-UShourly1119232568StockBrokerFraudBlogComhttps://feedburner.google.comMassachusetts Securities Regulator Charges Investment Advisor with Defrauding Investors, including Seniors, in 26-Year-Long $1M Real Estate Scamhttps://www.stockbrokerfraudblog.com/2018/02/massachusetts-securities-regulator-charges-investment-advisor-defrauding-investors-including-seniors-26-year-long-real-estate-scam.html
Fri, 16 Feb 2018 00:49:07 +0000https://www.stockbrokerfraudblog.com/?p=4861Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin has filed charges against investment adviser Thomas Riquier for allegedly defrauding investors of at least $1M in a real estate scam that has gone on for more than a quarter of a century. According to the administrative complaint, Riquier solicited funds from people, mostly older investors (some of them his firm’s clients), to buy property that was then to be sold at a profit. His employer, United Planners Financial Services of America, is charged with failure to supervise.

In its investment adviser fraud case, the regulator claims that investors’ money was used instead to buy property already belonging to Riquier. The property has yet to be improved or sold. It has not rendered any returns for investors. The state regulator notes that because the alleged scam has been going on for so long—26 years—a number of investors have passed away. The rest of them have yet to make money from the venture.

Riquier is also accused of soliciting over $830K in private loans from clients. Galvin said that this violates federal and state laws.

The alleged fraud is said to have taken place the entire time he worked for United Planners. During this period, Riquier is accused of soliciting not just his clients for investments but also their relatives. He also is accused of asking clients to invest in his own limited partnership. He allegedly did this by providing information that was false and without properly disclosing certain material information.

Riquier’s son-in-law was hired by United Planners to oversee him. The firm is accused of not properly watching their agent even though it purportedly knew that Riquier was “conducting business” with clients. The state regulator said that if only United Planers had conducted “the most basic of due diligence,” the full scope of the fraud would have been detected much sooner.

Now, Galvin’s office wants an administrative fine, censure, and cease and desist order against Riquier. It also would like to see his registration as a broker-dealer and investment adviser agent in the state of Massachusetts revoked. The regulator wants Riquier to pay restitution to investors for their losses.

At Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas, LTD LLP, it is our job to help investors that have been the victims of investment adviser fraud to recoup their losses. Contact our securities fraud law firm today. Our elder financial fraud lawyers work with older investors and their families throughout the US.

In an enforcement action, the US Securities and Exchange Commission is accusing Timothy S. Batchelor of misusing over $1.2M in investor monies. The funds were supposed to go toward the development of a submarine vessel and to businesses involved in national security.

According to the regulator’s complaint, of the $2.4M that Batchelor raised from investors through the Specter Ventures Fund II, he improperly spent half of the money, including almost $250K to buy new cars and about $225K to cover student loans. He allegedly moved thousands of dollars in investor monies to his own relatives. Batchelor also is accused of trying to conceal his actions by faking a document that misrepresented unauthorized expenditures as a loan.

]]>4855Ex-Morgan Stanley Executive is Sentenced in Multimillion-Dollar Fraud That Targeted Widowhttps://www.stockbrokerfraudblog.com/2018/02/ex-morgan-stanley-executive-sentenced-multimillion-dollar-fraud-targeted-widow.html
Sat, 10 Feb 2018 00:41:53 +0000https://www.stockbrokerfraudblog.com/?p=4852Gregory Walsh, a former Morgan Stanley (MS) Assistant Vice President, is sentenced to two years in prison and three years’ supervised release. Last year, Walsh pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud that involved defrauding a firm client of $4.8M.

Court documents state that in 2011 Walsh and his brother, ex-Bank of Oswego VP Geoffrey Walsh, convinced a Morgan Stanley client who was newly widowe, to lend Geoffrey over $1.1M to buy three condos in Palm Springs that would be put in her name and then sold. Instead, Geoffrey made his business the title owner of the properties and did not give the widow the documentation for the title or loan. He then sold two of the properties without her consent or knowledge and used the money for his own expenses instead of giving her the funds. When Gregory Walsh discovered what his brother had done, he did not tell his client.

In 2013, the brothers sought $2M from her for a real estate development project. Gregory did not tell the widow that his brother was involved when she asked. He then withdrew funds from her Morgan Stanley account without her consent or knowledge. In 2013, $1.7M of that money was used to pay off a credit line at Bank of Oswego for Geoffrey, who spent the rest of her funds that had been withdrawn.

Gregory also made two other transactions from his client’s Morgan Stanley account that were supposedly for her, including issuing $100,000 to his brother’s friend and $2M to invest in a cannabis company. While the client had spoken with Geoffrey about the latter investment she never told him to go ahead with it. The company later gave her back the money after talking to the FBI. Meantime, Gregory made more than $18K in commissions from these transactions.

This month, Geoffrey, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud, conspiracy to make false bank records, and wire fraud was sentenced to 30 months in prison and three years’ supervised release.

]]>4852Securities Fraud Cases: Businessman Accused in Jay Peak Resort-Related Investment Scheme Must Pay Back Over $81M in Investor Money, Former State Street VP Faces Another Criminal Charge, and Lawyer Pleads Guilty in $20M Stock Scamhttps://www.stockbrokerfraudblog.com/2018/02/securities-fraud-cases-businessman-accused-jay-peak-resort-related-investment-scheme-must-pay-back-81m-investor-money-former-state-street-vp-faces-another-criminal-charge-lawyer-ple.html
Thu, 08 Feb 2018 05:04:04 +0000https://www.stockbrokerfraudblog.com/?p=4843Businessman Settles SEC Case Over Immigrant Visa-Related Investor Scam
Ariel Quiros, a businessman accused of defrauding foreign investors seeking to earn US residency through the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, has agreed to the settle the Securities and Exchange Commission’s case against him. As part of the settlement, which a court still has to approve, Quiros will be held liable for over $81M in disgorgement of ill-gotten gains and a $1M penalty. He also has to forfeit about $417K.

Over 700 investors from at least 75 nations invested with Quiros. Their funds were supposed to go toward “construction projects at the Jay Peak Resort and a proposed (nearby) biomedical research facility,” said the SEC. Instead, contends the regulator, Quiros misused over $50M to buy another ski resort and pay for his own spending, including the purchase of two luxury condos. He also failed to direct about $30M to the construction projects, which was necessary for these investors to become US residents.

Now, Quiros must give up the two condos and the resort that he bought using investors’ funds, as well as surrender his ownership stake in Jay Peak and many other properties.

Ex-State Street Executive is Accused of Defrauding Another Investor Through Hidden Fees
Federal prosecutors have filed a new criminal charge against ex-State Street Corp.(STT) Vice President Ross McLellan. The former bank executive had previously pleaded not guilty to an earlier indictment accusing him and others of defrauding six clients in the Middle East and Europe. Now, the government is claiming that McClellan charged another client, a US-based insurer, hidden fees on fixed-income trades that were made on behalf of funds that the client advised.

McLellan is scheduled to go on trial for the earlier criminal charges of wire fraud and securities fraud later this year.

In a settlement reached with the UK Financial Conduct Authority in 2014, State Street agreed to pay $38M for overcharging the six clients. Among those that were financially harmed were government pension funds in Britain and Ireland, as well as a Middle Eastern sovereign wealth fund. Last year, State Street agreed to pay $64M to settle related US civil and criminal probes.

Attorney Pleads Guilty in $20M Pump-and-Dump Scam
Diane D. Dalmy, a Colorado lawyer has pleaded guilty in the securities fraud case accusing her of conspiring with others to bilk thousands of investors in a $20M pump-and-dump fraud. She could end up serving up to five years behind bars, pay a $40M fine, and ordered to pay $10.7M in restitution.

Dalmy and others are accused of manipulating stock trades, announcing business developments that were bogus, and engaging in other fraudulent actions to inflate a stock’s price. The Hartford Courant reports that the stock scam affected about 12,000 victims, many of them retired investors who lost their savings as a result. Dalmy, who is accused of signing fake lawyer opinion letters falsely certifying that certain penny stock transactions were legitimate, admitted that she let a co-conspirator move funds through a law firm trust.

This is not the first time that Dalmy has been accused of fraud. The SEC barred her from involvement in letters similar to the ones she signed in this latest case after she was accused of profiting in earlier stock offering fraud.

In a parallel civil case, the US Securities and Exchange Commission claims that beginning in 2014, the two men defrauded three clients of almost half a million dollars. The allegations include:

*Stealing almost $450K from one client and using the funds to make their own investments and pay for Polese’s credit card bills and the college tuition of his children.
*Using a client’s assets to obtain loan financing for an entity in which they were investors.
*Investing client monies in a venture in which they both had a financial stake without telling the client.
*Getting a loan with unfavorable terms for a client.
*Charging one client advisory fees that were 50% more than what he told her they would be.

The SEC is alleging breach of fiduciary duty, violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Rule 10b-5 thereunder, the Investment Advises Act of 1940, and aiding and abetting violations of the Adviser Act and Rule 204-2 thereunder. Now, the regulator wants penalties, injunctions, disgorgement, and prejudgment interest imposed against the Boston-based financial advisers.

Although the regulator’s complaint doesn’t identify the two clients, Salem News reports that one of them was Ralph Bates, age 86. Polese managed Bates’ investments starting in 2010. The elder investor, who in the SEC’s complaint is referred to as client B, said that he lent Polese $50K, which the latter has not paid back nor did he tell Morgan Stanley, his employer at the time, about the loan. Bates is also the one whose $400K the two brokers are accused of using as collateral for a credit line for their own investments. The elderly investor was charged $12K in related fees.

Prosecutors say that it was from Bates’ account that the Polese and Peterson took $350K by forging his signature, and that they intended to each invest $50K of that in a particular venture. It was also from Bates’ account that Polese allegedly took over $93K for bills and tuition, including overpaying one tuition bill by $20K so that the college would give him back that money in cash. Bates claims that Polese tried to persuade him to sign documentation stating that he had verbally given the then-Morgan Stanley broker permission to handles his finances the way he did.

Peterson and Polese are accused of using $100K of another client’s money for a wind farm investment. They were fired by Morgan Stanley Wealth Management last year. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has barred them from ever working as brokers again.

Throughout the US, our broker fraud law firm represents investors that have lost money because of fraud. One of our investment adviser fraud attorneys would be happy to give you a free case consultation to explore whether you have grounds for a securities claim or lawsuit. Contact Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas, LTD LLP today.

]]>4849Texas Securities Cases: Ex-LPL Financial Adviser is Suspended for Charging Unreasonable Fees and Commissions, State Regulator Enters Cease and Desist Order Against R2B Coin, and Former Pharr Bank Worker Pleads Guilty to $1M Theft Involving Elderly Customershttps://www.stockbrokerfraudblog.com/2018/01/texas-securities-cases-ex-lpl-financial-adviser-suspended-charging-unreasonable-fees-commissions-state-regulator-enters-cease-desist-order-r2b-coin-former-pharr-bank-work.html
Tue, 30 Jan 2018 20:09:48 +0000https://www.stockbrokerfraudblog.com/?p=4828Beaumont, TX Investment Adviser is Suspended for 90 Days
In a Disciplinary Order, the Texas State Securities Board suspended former LPL Financial LLC (LPLA) investment adviser Jason N. Anderson for 90 days. The state contends that while registered with that firm, Anderson touted an active-trading program to clients that charged them unreasonable fees, which included commissions to Anderson, as well as trading costs.

For example, one client paid costs that were approximately 30% of “the value of the average equity securities” in the client’s account. The Texas regulator said that the trading program would have had to make “extraordinary returns” for investors to “offset” such fees or even, in some cases, allow them to merely “break-even.”

The order called the commissions and trading costs “inequitable practices” that violated the Texas Securities Act. The state accused Anderson of not having reasonable grounds for believing that the trading program would be appropriate for these clients.

However, the state’s order also approved Anderson’s registration with Financial Management Services of America, LLC. He was previously registered with Kovack Securities and IFS Securities.

State Regulator Said R2B Coin is Not Registered to Sell Securities in Texas
In an emergency cease and desist order, the Texas State Securities Board is accusing R2B Coin of fraud related to its sale of the r2b coin cryptocurrency. The regulator contends that Williams Corp. Ltd., which is the supposed distributor of the coin, is not registered to sell securities to investors in the state.

Currently, R2B Coin is asking investors, including Texas investors, to participate in a “pre-sales” period of the r2b coin, claiming that the more they invest the more their “life will change.” R2B Coin is purportedly promising prospective investors that their r2b coin will never lose value unlike other cryptocurrencies.

The company maintains that it will soon be listed on a major stock exchange and that investors will be able to get stock for their tokens. R2B Coin recruits sales agents to solicit investors as part of what the Texas regulator describes is a “multilevel marketing scheme.” Texas investors are among those being solicited for money by these agents who stand to receive “generous commissions.”

The Texas State Securities Board’s Enforcement Division is accusing R2B Coin of committing multiple violations of the state’s Securities Act.

Former South Texas bank Worker Pleads Guilty to Embezzlement
Cynthia Luna Rodriguez, an ex-Pharr, TX. bank worker, has pleaded guilty to stealing over $1M from six customers. She embezzled money from them while at First National Bank in Edinburg and after PlainsCapital Bank took over that entity.

Her victims were older customers whom she met at the bank or people living abroad who were less likely to notice their US account bank balances. Rodriguez made unauthorized account withdrawals.

]]>4828AriseBank in Dallas is Accused of Alleged $600M ICO Offering Fraudhttps://www.stockbrokerfraudblog.com/2018/01/arisebank-dallas-accused-alleged-600m-ico-offering-fraud.html
Mon, 29 Jan 2018 19:12:36 +0000https://www.stockbrokerfraudblog.com/?p=4825The SEC has put a stop to Dallas-based AriseBank’s initial coin offering. The regulator contends that AriseBank, which touts itself as the first “decentralized bank” in the world, and its principals are committing Texas financial fraud, and they’ve targeted retail investors, including Texas investors, in an effort to raise hundreds of millions of dollars.

Now, the Commission has a court order to stop the sale of AriseCoin cryptocurrency, which it says are unregistered investments. The regulator called the ICO an “illegal offering” of said securities and it accused the company of engaging in an “outright” scam.

AriseBank reportedly sought to raise $1B during its ICO, which began in late December and was scheduled to end later month. Investors were supposed to receive their distributions on February 10.

The SEC’s complaint said that the company employed endorsements by celebrities, used social media, and engaged in other marketing strategies to raise $600M. A sales pitch was used touting an algorithmic trading application that could engage in trades using different cryptocurrencies. Customers were told that they could get a Visa-affiliated credit card that would allow them to spend in over 700 kinds of cryptocurrencies and that the AriseCoin cryptocurrency could be used to purchase certain consumer services and goods.

The company purportedly failed to disclose the criminal records of certain executives. For example, AriseBank Co-Founder and CEO Jared Rice was previously charged with tampering with government records and felony theft. He is on probation after pleading guilty to the criminal charges. AriseBank President Kevin Spencer has been arrested a number of times and convicted. He went to prison for five years for felony robbery and was forced to pay a $250K fine. The SEC notes that investors should have been told about these convictions and the guilty plea so they could better determine whether to invest. Also, the criminal records of the two men would have impacted whether the Defendants could be granted the proper licenses to operate and run a financial institution.

The court, which granted the SEC’s order to stop the alleged ICO fraud, ordered a freeze of AriseBank’s assets and approved the naming of a receiver, who will be allowed to secure different AriseBank-held cryptocurrencies right away, including Bitcoin, Bitshares, Litecoin, Dogecoin, and BitUSD.

Rice, Co-Founder Stanley Ford, and AriseBank are the Defendants in the SEC’s case. The Commission wants disgorgement plus interest, penalties, permanent injunctions, and bars against the two men.

The Texas Department of Banking has also put out a cease and desist order against AriseBank demanding that it stop operations right away. According to the state’s Banking Commissioner, Charles G. Cooper, AriseBank’s use of the word “bank” in its name, as well as in marketing collateral, violates the Texas Finance Code because it creates the impression that the company is engaged in banking in Texas. Rice responded with a letter in which he refused to comply.

]]>4825SEC Cases: Woodbridge Agrees to Pay Legal Fees for Investors Harmed in Alleged $1.2B Ponzi Scam, Hoplon Financial Group is Accused of $2.18M Securities Offering Scheme, and Ticket Reserve Settles Investor Fraud Chargeshttps://www.stockbrokerfraudblog.com/2018/01/sec-cases-woodbridge-agrees-pay-legal-fees-investors-harmed-alleged-1-2b-ponzi-scam-hoplon-financial-group-accused-2-18m-securities-offering-scheme-ticketreserve-settles-inves.html
Sat, 27 Jan 2018 20:21:35 +0000https://www.stockbrokerfraudblog.com/?p=4833Woodbridge to Appoint New Board to Run the Property Developer, Will Pay for Investor Fraud Lawyers
Woodbridge Group of Companies and the US Securities and Exchange Commission have come to an agreement that a New Board of Managers will be appointed to oversee the bankrupt property developer. The company, which is accused of running a $1.2B Ponzi scam, will pay for legal representation for its investors that continue to grapple with losses they may have sustained in the alleged fraud. Some 8,400 investors gave their money to Woodbridge.

Woodbridge owner Robert Shapiro is accused of owing over $961M to investors, many of them elderly investors, who purchased securities from the company while under the impression that they’d be guaranteed up to 8% interest. Investors were told that their money would be lent out to companies in exchange for up to 15% interest when, in fact, contends the SEC, these developers were entities that Shapiro himself controlled.

Shapiro, who is accused of taking at least $21M of investors’ funds to pay for his lavish lifestyle, denies the SEC’s allegations.

Under the agreement reached with the SEC, the regulator is no longer asking for a trustee to be appointed by the court and it is withdrawing its request seeking receivership over Woodbridge’s assets.

SEC Files Charges Against Hoplon Financial Group and Its CEO
The SEC filed civil fraud charges accusing Hoplon Financial Group, CEO Daniel B. Vazquez Sr., and ex-COO Gilbert Fluetsch of involvement in a securities offering scam that raised $2.18M from 27 investors. Most of the money came from their victims’ individual retirement accounts.

The regulator’s complaint said that Hoplon, Vazquez, and Fluetsch misused most of investors’ money, including misappropriating about $780K. Their victims thought that they were investing in the Economic Opportunities Fund I, LLC for the purchase of residential properties that would be flipped.

Vazquez was registered as a representative for a brokerage firm and as an investment adviser when the alleged fraud occurred.

Ticket Reserve Inc. Settles Investor Fraud Charges
In district court in Texas, a consent judgement has been entered in the SEC’s fraud case against The Ticket Reserve Inc. The company, its ex-CEO Richard Harmon, former COO John Kaptrosky, and board member Ash Narayan are accused of misappropriating individual investors’ funds—allegedly over $500K by Harmon and more than $2M by Narayan. Kaptrosky is accused of aiding and abbetting.

Harmon and Kaptrosky are accused of not telling investors that The Ticket Reserve was in financial trouble while trying to raise funds from them. Material misrepresentations, backdated documents, and the issuance of Ponzi-like payments were purportedly used to keep the fraud going.

Harmon and Kaptrosky settled the SEC’s case but without denying or admitting to the charges. Harmon will pay $945K. Kaptrosky’s monetary remedies have not been determined yet. Narayan had already settled the SEC’s charges against him.

According to the criminal complaint, Cedeno and Santana targeted investors of binary options, in particular those that bought them from Banc de Binary and other entities that had been the subject of lawsuits brought by US regulators. For example,in 2016, Banc de Binary settled with the SEC and the CFTC for $11M allegations that they illegally solicited US investors via its trading platform. But even as early as the year before that, prosecutors contend, Banc de Binary securities buyers began receiving calls and emails from supposed SEC employees wanting money related to these investments. Investor targets were purportedly told that they would have to pay money to get part of the Banc de Binary settlement. More than two dozen people reportedly gave the scammers over $235,000 collectively.

Chicago Investment Adviser Arrives at Plea Agreement in Senior Fraud Case
Daniel Glick, a former investment advisor, has pleaded guilty to wire fraud. Per the plea deal, Glick bilked clients of at least $5.2M and lied to them about their money. The majority of his victims were older investors, including his in-laws and a nursing home resident.

Last year, the SEC filed an emergency action against Glick and his Financial Management Strategies, which was an unregistered firm, in a parallel senior fraud civil case. The regulator accused Glick of using client money to pay for his own expenses, including a Mercedes, cover business costs, and repay debts and loans.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority had barred Glick in 2014, and his CPA license and Certified Financial Planner designation were previously revoked over conduct separate from what the SEC and prosecutors are now contending.

First Farmers Financial LLC CEO Who Pleaded Guilty in $179M Investment Fraud Tried to Flee the US
Nikesh Patel, who was awaiting his prison sentence for five counts of wire fraud, was arrested earlier this month while trying to flee the US in a private jet for Ecuador. Patel, formerly First Farmers Financial LLC’s CEO, had pleaded guilty to the criminal charges in 2016. He admitted to selling tens of millions of dollars in fraudulent loans-26 of them-to Pennant Management and spending the money on his own extravagant lifestyle and to purchase hotels.

The fraud caused the Illinois Metropolitan Investment Fund, which invested with Pennant, to lose over $50M. According to the Chicago Tribune, over 200 Chicago-area park districts, school districts, municipalities, and other public entities that invested tax money with the fund were affected by Patel’s fraud.

In the case against CabbageTech, doing business as Coin Drop Markets, and its owner Patrick K. McDonnell, the Defendants are accused of participating in a virtual currency scam to solicit investor for funds and virtual money, supposedly in exchange for real time trading advice and the sale and trading of virtual currency under McDonnell’s guidance. Instead, claims the CFTC, investors received no such advice and they never saw their money again because McDonnell and CabbageTech misappropriated their funds. The regulator believes that the defendants sought to hide their scam by eliminating their online and social media presencse and ending communications with customers.

The CFTC’s civil action against McDonnell and his company was announced the same day as its case against The Entrepreneurs Headquarters Limited, which is a company registered in the UK, and founder Dillon Michael Dean. The regulator believes that beginning in April 2017 through now, the defendants solicited at least $1.1M of Bitcoin from over 600 investors, with the promise that the Bitcoin would be turned into fiat currency and invested in a pooled investment vehicle to trade commodity interests.

Prospective participants were promised high return rates and that their investments would be handled by individuals who were experts at trading. Solicitation for funds occurred through YouTube, Facebook posts, and company websites.

Now, Dean and The Entrepreneurs Headquarters are accused of misappropriating over $1M in customer money. Meantime, Dean reportedly has set up another trading venture named Real Trade Profits. Once again, a website is being used to solicit Bitcoin to be used in a pooled investment, this one involving binary options trading. High return rates have been promised.

In the regulator’s case against My Big Coin Pay, the CFTC is alleging a $6M commodity fraud involving the virtual currency called My Big Coin. Other Defendants are Randall Crater and Mark Gillespie, who are accused of using investors’ money for their own lavish expenses.

In a joint statement, CFTC Enforcement Director James McDonald and SEC Enforcement Directors Steven Peikin and Stephanie Avakian said that digital instruments, including virtual currencies, tokens, and coins are not immune from prosecution for violations of “federal securities and commodities laws.”

Massachusetts Accuses Cayman Island Company of Selling Unregistered Securities
State regulators are also beginning to go after companies involved in digital currencies that are accused of fraud. The Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth Securities Division has opened an administrative case against Kirill Bensonoff, a Brookline resident, and his Cayman Island based-company Caviar. The regulator contends that Bensonoff is running his company outside the US to circumvent federal securities laws.

Caviar, which has an initial coin offering going on, has reportedly raised more than $3M. The tokens tout quarterly dividends from an investment fund that combines real estate and cryptocurrencies. Now, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin is alleging that the sale of unregistered securities is taking place.

It was just recently that the Texas State Securities Board and the North Carolina Securities Division accused the company BitConnect of selling tokens that were unregistered securities. Bitcoin has since shut down its investment lending platform.

Meantime, investors are starting to demand their money back. Cryptocurrency startup Centra Tech is now the defendant in a class action investor fraud lawsuit. Centra Tech raised $32M in its ICO last year. Now, the plaintiffs are contending that the company and its senior executives sold unregistered securities and lied to investors about creating a cryptocurrency debit card. While Centra claims that it was working with Visa on the cards, a spokesperson for the credit card company said there was no such collaboration in place. Centra denies the investor fraud allegations.